Exceeding Expectations
NASHVILLE – The Arkansas men’s basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the Southeastern Conference the league office announced on Wednesday morning during SEC Media Day in Nashville, Tennessee.
Exceeding expectations is nothing new to head coach Mike Anderson. During the last four seasons, media members have picked Arkansas to finish anywhere from third to 11th in their preseason poll, and all four years the Razorbacks finished ahead of those projections.
Last season, a projected fifth place finish turned into a top-three regular season performance and a spot in the SEC Tournament championship game. Three years ago, the media picked Arkansas third and Anderson led his team to a runner-up finish in the league and another spot in the tournament title game.
After the SEC sent five programs to the NCAA Tournament last year and had three teams in the Elite Eight, bracketology experts have Arkansas as one of six teams from the league making an appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks are looking to advance to the Big Dance for the third time in the last four years.
Coach Anderson sums up preseason polls in one simple phrase.
“It’s not where you start, but where you finish.”
| Year | Predicted Finish | Actually Finished |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 6th | Dialed In |
| 2016-17 | 5th | T-3rd |
| 2015-16 | 11th | T-8th |
| 2014-15 | 3rd | 2nd |
| 2013-14 | 8th | 5th |
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